The Will To Protect
by Phoenix089
Summary: Sometimes the will to protect overrides all things - obstacles, fear and uncertainty ... Nothing else matters - just your need to protect someone dear to you. UlquiHime one-shot


So, this story is almost a year old now ... However, it's one of my fave UlquiHime fics that I've done ...

I hope you guys like it too! I plan on, slowly but surely, posting all my UlquiHime drabbles here, because they're the pairing I've done the most for =)

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Something was amiss – of that much Ulquiorra was certain. He couldn't quite put his finger on when he began to suspect as much – perhaps it was the way the air had suddenly turned cold, perhaps it had been the sudden tenseness he could see in Orihime's back, or maybe the way that she suddenly dashed – as subtlety as she could - to her room and re-emerged properly dressed instead of wearing her bat-print pyjamas. Nevertheless … Something wasn't right, and as Orihime made her way to the door, Ulquiorra realised that he had no more time to wonder at the 'why' and he needed to focus more on the 'what'.

"Woman," he said suddenly, and Orihime visibly froze at his voice, "What is it?"

She turned around then, an obviously fake smile on her face as she looked at Ulquiorra, "What do you mean Ulquiorra? I just realised we're out of red bean paste and wanted to get some for tonight's dinner." She wouldn't hold his eyes though, and Ulquiorra felt his own narrowing. Something was _definitely_ not right. The Woman was lying to him, for one, for Ulquiorra could remember only too well that she bought some more of that paste just yesterday.

"You're not being truthful," he told her, and Orihime's mouth pulled into a frown at being caught, her eyes full of guilt as Ulquiorra rose from the couch he'd been reading on and made his way over to her, determined to find the truth.

Before Ulquiorra could say another word though, and before he was able to reach her, Orihime had pulled the front door open and locked it with her key – the only way to open or close the door, which effectively locked Ulquiorra inside.

"Woman! What the bloody hell are you doing?" Ulquiorra growled, bashing his fist once against the door in his frustration. He'd lived with Orihime for several months now, trapped inside a Gigai form because that was what Soul Society had deemed the only acceptable way for Ulquiorra to reside on earth – bound and without a connection to Murcielago because the spirit could not feel him in his Gigai – But not once had Orihime locked him in the apartment. Not once had she taken the small vestige of freedom left away from him … And that just made her doing it now all the more worrying for Ulquiorra.

"I can't let you leave there right now," Ulquiorra heard her whisper through the door. "I can't. You can't feel it can you?" she asked, and the question thoroughly confused Ulquiorra.

"Feel what?" he asked, his monotone strained in his anxiety. His mind wouldn't stop repeating it – _Not right, not right, not right._ – and his black-coated nails pressed into the wood of the door instinctively.

"It doesn't matter, this way you'll be safe," Orihime told him, her voice still soft, and it was that which worried Ulquiorra more than her words. She laughed softly then, "You know … This isn't that way I'd intended to say this," and Ulquiorra's eyes grew wide as he heard what sounded like a choked off sob.

His hand pressed flat against the door as he pressed his forehead to the wood. This wasn't right, there was something he was missing – and never had Ulquiorra wanted to throttle the Chief Commander so much. If he had his proper senses, he was sure he would know what had Orihime behaving this way. If only he had a way to return to his spirit body.

As Orihime took a deep breath though, Ulquiorra closed his eyes, focusing on her voice instead, gritting his teeth together as he attempted to maintain control enough of his body to not start pounding on the door. There was something about the heart that had the tendency to bring out the most animalistic emotions in a being – even more so when you couldn't understand the situation. Maybe that was why Ulquiorra could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and probably why he was biting down on his lip harshly enough to taste blood.

"I –" Orihime hesitated, and Ulquiorra's nails began digging into his palm, "I love you," she said, her voice strong and Ulquiorra could just imagine the determined look in her eye as she said it, and then he could hear her footsteps as they pounded away from the door and outside.

Without even knowing why,Ulquiorra jumped over the couch, bolted to the other side of the room and flung the curtains open just in time to see the last of her hair swing around the corner. She was in a hurry … But why? And what did those words mean? Ulquiorra could feel they were words with a lot of weight behind them, but he had no understanding of why.

Green eyes narrowed dangerously as he pulled at the window in vain – it had also been locked. What was she keeping him from? Why would she say such a strange statement before bolting away? Ulquiorra couldn't understand any of it – he hadn't lived among humans long enough for something like that yet – but he could feel the anger burning inside of him nevertheless.

And he had never cursed Soul Society and their fear of him more, because his instincts were telling him that wherever Orihime had run to … It was towards something dangerous.

It was difficult to run as you were crying, Orihime found out. She didn't like the way she'd had to lock Ulquiorra up at all, but she also felt it was necessary. Ulquiorra hadn't sensed it, there was no way he could have confined to the Gigai as he was, but she had. There was an enormous spiritual energy heading their way, and Orihime was almost certain it was after Ulquiorra.

At the thought, she felt her eyes narrow angrily. That was something she would not allow. He'd been given a second chance, and there was no way she was going to allow something to take that away from him.

And so, Orihime stood with her feet firmly on the ground, just a few blocks away from their apartment – far enough that she could fight whatever was coming their way – with her shoulders squared. She didn't even care if Kurosaki-kun made it back from Soul Society in time to help, the only thing Orihime knew was that she needed – wanted – to protect Ulquiorra.

It was with those thoughts and feelings firmly in place that she summoned up Tsubaki and aimed him at what looked like an Arrancar flying overhead, evidently searching for Ulquiorra's presence.

_I may die fighting this creature …_ Orihime thought as the human-looking hollow turned it's gaze down at her, Tsubaki effectively wounding it's arm, but as she met it's eyes defiantly – almost challengingly - Orihime knew that if she could protect Ulquiorra … It didn't matter. She just wanted him to be free.

It was that which had her shielding herself from attacks before firing counter-attacks, ignoring the creatures jeers that a weak human such as she shouldn't have caught it's attention, because now she was going to die.

Orihime smiled ruefully up at it, an action that had the Arrancar with the tattoed four on its cheek pause with confusion. "You're a strange one you know! What's funny?"

Orihime almost started laughing as it looked down at her, evidently bewildered. "What does it matter if I'm weak?" she yelled, months and months of being denied the right to fight alongside her friends finally fuelling the angered fire she needed, "All that matters is if I defeat you!" and as she yelled her defiance to the empty streets, Orihime fired Tsubaki again, cutting the Arrancar's arm off with the attack.

_That's not going to happen again though,_ Orihime mentally told herself, already huffing with the effort of dodging and summoning another shield when necessary. _I only got a clean hit on him because he was distracted_, and the look the Arrancar sent her way simply solidified her thoughts.

"I can't believe I'm having such trouble with a weak, _pathetic,_ human!" the angered Arrancar yelled, and Orihime mentally cursed as it took hold of its sword, releasing into the form of a giant snake seconds later.

Taking a deep breath, Orihime stood her ground as the giant serpent slithered towards her. She couldn't lose – If she lost, then Ulquiorra would loose his freedom.

"I," Orihime grit her teeth and readied Tsubaki again, "Won't let that happen!"

Ulquiorra's head turned to the sound of the crash he heard from nearby – had that been a car accident or … His eyes narrowed suspiciously. No. He'd know that sound almost anywhere – he'd _lived_ around that sound for far too long to not be able to recognise it. An Arrancar had just released. He couldn't sense it – how could he when he was restrained the way he was? – but he knew it deep within his bones that was what had just happened.

If he considered that, then it made sense Orihime had locked him up. She knew only too well that he wouldn't have been able to just stand idly by as an Arrancar ran amok in Kakura town –Soul Society would have blamed him for bringing the creature here, and that would have meant the end of his chance to stay with Orihime.

But … Ulquiorra's eyes returned to the corner he'd last seen her. _That means … The Woman is fighting the Arrancar alone._ The thought unsettled him more than Ulquiorra had thought it would have done. He was only too aware that Orihime had not been trained in offensive attacks like the others had – her foolish friends all thought she was too weak for battle. _Ridiculous_. He was equally aware that Orihime was the only one in Kakura town at that moment capable of feeling a Hollow's presence.

His hands once more came to rest on the window, both balled into fists at the mental images that ran through his head. "Shit," he hissed, his eyes angrily fixing themselves upon the window.

Then his breath caught in his throat as Orihime's form came flying through the air, her momentum stopped only by hitting one of the walls nearby painfully. She didn't cry out though, she simply dropped to one knee, her breath coming out in harsh pants as she glared at something Ulquiorra couldn't see before thrusting Tsubaki forth once more.

Ulquiorra faintly heard a yell of "You bitch!", but it was muted as though he was trying to listen to a radio station that hadn't been tuned properly, and he ground his teeth with frustration – a frustration that grew to infuriation as he noticed the state Orihime was in.

She was obviously injured - one of her eyes only half open and red, and one arm was held awkwardly by her side as though it hurt her to hold it straight, and then there was the blood that was running down from her forehead. The sight of it angered Ulquiorra more than the fact that he had been locked in this room. Someone was injuring his Woman, and he was absolutely powerless to do anything to prevent it, trapped as he was in the damn Gigai. For the first time, Ulquiorra actually _wished_ Kurosaki Ichigo or one of the Nakama would appear out of nowhere.

Only because he was watching her carefully, Ulquiorra saw Orihime's eyes flick up to the window before grinning softly, and he could hear her voice as clearly as though she'd said it, _I'm fine. _ And Ulquiorra's hands bashed against the window of their own accord – he wanted to yell at her that she was _not_ fine. Why the bloody hell did she engage an Arrancar on her own anyway?

As Orihime rose unsteadily to her feet, Ulquiorra froze once again, she was saying something to an unseen enemy, and he had no idea what she was saying, but he could tell from the look in her eyes that she was baiting whatever Arrancar had attacked her.

It must have worked as well, for mere seconds later, she turned her back on Ulquiorra's horrified expression and ran out of sight once more – the trees lining the pavement shifting with the force of the speed the Arrancar chased her with.

Ulquiorra snarled as she disappeared from sight once more before running to the room he stayed in and pulling Murcielago out from the cupboard.

"Whether you listen to me or not in this form," he told the sword as he returned to the small living room, "I will _not_ allow her to face this alone," Ulquiorra growled before he took hold of a random pan from the kitchen and threw it at the window, effectively breaking the glass and Ulquiorra couldn't believe he hadn't thought to break it earlier.

As he jumped out the small window, Ulquiorra ignored the way the remaining glass shards ripped against his arm and drew blood, focusing instead on how to best land with minimal wasted time, for the very second he landed, Ulquiorra began running down the path Orihime had lead the Arrancar, his eyes still burning with fury.

Just as he began to wonder if they'd turned down some side street at some point, Ulquiorra heard a yell of "Santen Kesshun!" and willed his feet to run faster – hating his Gigai's restrictions more and more with each step.

Then he was brought to an abrupt halt as someone took hold of his wrist. Without even pausing to think, Ulquiorra half turned and threw a punch at whoever it was. Seconds later however, he realised it was Uruhara, and the ex-captain had effectively stopped his punch millimetres in front of his face.

"You're adapting surprisingly well, Ulquiorra," Uruhara sang, and Ulquiorra was tempted to throw another punch at the Shinigami in irritation – he didn't have time to deal with the Ex-Captain's games right now.

As Ulquiorra attempted to pull his hand free though, Uruhara simply tightened his hold, looking at Ulquiorra with interest.

"What are you rushing for?" Uruhara asked, even though Ulquiorra saw his eyes flick behind the two. Ulquiorra quickly looked in the same direction and could see Orihime in the distance, ducking under something unseen before she made a throwing gesture.

Once again Ulquiorra could hear a static-pained cry. _She hit it_, he thought, surprised – though he wasn't sure what surprised him more, that she'd hit an Arrancar and wounded him, or that she was using her offensive powers.

"She's fighting for your sake," Uruhara sighed, his eyes much too knowing for Ulquiorra's liking.

"Why?" the Ex-Espada asked the Shinigami, his green eyes narrowing suspiciously. As Uruhara watched Ulquiorra silently though, Ulquiorra once more heard Orihime's words echoed from before _I love you_. Those words … What did they mean? Was _that_ why she was fighting? For this thing called love? Ulquiorra didn't understand, and he felt as he had back up on the dome. _It's related to the heart, then?_

Ulquiorra's attention moved once more to the only-partially seen battle in front of him as Orihime shrieked with pain again. And as he turned, Ulquiorra was mildly startled to realise he could see the large snake-like form the Arrancar that Orihime was fighting now – almost as startled as he was to see the four tattoed on the left wing of the snakes head.

_She's fighting my replacement then?_ Ulquiorra would have laughed at the irony if Orihime wasn't crouching on the ground, evidently pained now. He felt his anger rise as he heard the new Fourth Espada chuckle.

"Foolish human, you actually thought you could defeat me?" it jeered, tossing Orihime aside with a swipe of its tail. She didn't even have time to project her shield, and once again Ulquiorra pulled against Uruhara's hold on his wrist.

When Uruhara still refused to release his wrist though, Ulquiorra turned back to look at the Shinigami incredulously. "She'll _die_ if this continues!" Ulquiorra hissed, his eyes wide in his anxiety – since when had he felt anxious about whether the Woman died or not?

Uruhara must have been thinking the same thing for he asked, "Why do you, an Arrancar, care?" What Ulquiorra could see of Uruhara's eyes were calculating and thoughtful. Two things he did _not_ have time for as his Espada-replacement tossed Orihime around as if she were a ragdoll.

"I don't _think_ I can defeat you," Orihime's voice rang out then, strong and determined despite her injuries, _"_I _have_ to defeat you!", and it was then that Orihime threw Tsubaki forth again this time cutting the Snake-Hollow's wing. The side that had the Four tattoed on it, "And you're not worthy of that number!" she yelled, rising to her feet defiantly as the snake lunged for her once more – a lunge that had Ulquiorra similarly lunging forward with a shout of "Orihime!"

Seconds later Ulquiorra realised that was one thing he should not have done, for both the Snake-Hollow and Orihime paused in their battle to look at Ulquiorra. Orihime stared at him with horror, while the Espada's mouth stretched in a grin.

"There you are Ulquiorra!" and in Orihime's moment of distraction, the hollow wrapped it's tail around her throat, "This little bitch actually distracted me from my mission. Aizen-sama won't be pleased it took me this long at all," it hummed, visibly tightening it's hold on Orihime's neck despite Tsubaki's constant attempts to break her free.

"Shit," Ulquiorra cussed, darting forth and ducked beneath the Arrancar's attack on him in his haste to get to Orihime. Without thinking on why Uruhara had chosen to release him now, Ulquiorra pulled Murcielago from it's sheath and cut the Snake-Hollow's tail clean off, which meant Orihime could then pull it from around her neck, coughing as she drew deep breaths of air, looking at Ulquiorra with surprise all the while.

Only then as he stood over Orihime, his breath seeming caught in his throat as though someone were choking him also, did Ulquiorra realise that Murcielago had actually cut something. Before he could look down at his blade however, Orihime had leapt to her feet, and Ulquiorra felt his mouth pull into a frown at the act. Surely someone who was bleeding so profusely should not be jumping up the way she was?

Orihime didn't seem to notice his concern however as she suddenly touched his cheeks, running her fingers down his cheeks where his tear-marks used to be.

"They're back," she whispered, her eyes wide, "I can't believe I actually missed seeing them," she breathed, and Ulquiorra thought that her words made absolutely no sense until he looked down at Murcielago.

The katana looked just as it was meant to – not the rusty blade that Soul Society had imprisoned it to when they trapped Ulquiorra in his Gigai. Confused, Ulquiorra looked back over his shoulder to where Uruhara was standing.

At the Ex-Captain's feet was the body of his Gigai, seemingly unconscious on the floor which meant that Ulquiorra was …

He looked down at his hand and it was the ghostly white he truly was, not the sickly pale of his Gigai which meant, somehow, Ulquiorra had broken free of Soul Society's restraints and returned to his soul-form.

Deflecting another attack from the Snake-Hollow, Ulquiorra Sonido'd back to Uruhara and looked at the Shinigami questioningly. Uruhara simply shrugged, "You genuinely wanted to protect someone … That was enough to cancel out the chain's the Chief-Commander placed on you. He hadn't taken your regained heart into the equation – that's all," Uruhara said, before walking away waving over his shoulder as he went.

_Why did he come here?_ Ulquiorra wondered as he watched the retreating back, and he somehow couldn't shake the feeling that the Ex-Captain had come to help Ulquiorra break free of the Gigai.

Two things happened simultaneously happened then, Ulquiorra felt the Snake-Hollow come much closer than it should have – which told Ulquiorra his focus was in need of some training – and Orihime yelled out, "I won't let you!"

Just as Ulquiorra turned his head, Murcielago raised to strike the Espada that had been deflected by Orihime's shield, its head was split in half and Ulquiorra's head snapped to look over at Orihime, his eyes wide with shock.

She stood there with an angry, but satisfied look on her face as Tsubaki returned back to her, the small creature cheering at its victory. Orihime managed to stand on her own feet for a few more moments as she watched the remnant's of the Snake-Hollow fade away, then her knees wobbled beneath her and she fell down to the ground, Ulquiorra instinctively Sonido'ing over to catch her before her head hit the floor.

"Foolish Woman, you pushed yourself too hard," Ulquiorra scolded as he allowed Orihime to lay her head on his lap, the Woman's breath heavy and laboured. He didn't even care about the blood that was seeping onto his clothes as he looked down at her, impressed that she'd been able to defeat the new Fourth Espada.

"Don't care, it was worth it" Orihime panted with a grin, her eyes soft as she looked up at Ulquiorra, her eyes tracing down the teal tear-streaks before she winced and whispered, "Sōten Kisshun", her fairies instantly setting about healing the damage.

Ulquiorra didn't say a word as she closed her eyes and attempted to relax while her fairies worked, instead he found his hand threading into her hair of it's own accord, and he didn't quite care enough to want to move it. On the contrary, he found he rather enjoyed the feel of Orihime's hair in his hand.

The gentle atmosphere was broken mere moments later though by a shout of "Inoue!", and once more Ulquiorra wished that Kurosaki Ichigo wouldn't appear out of nowhere. Orihime surprised him moments later, though, by taking hold of his hand and twining their fingers together, and it was this that had Ulquiorra's mouth quirking into a barely-there smile even as Ichigo ran towards them, his eyes wide and spluttering with shock at the sight before him.

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Well? What did you think? I just adore writing a defiant/kick-ass Orihime ... Of course, I also adore writing cute/confused/not-used-to-emotions Ulquiorra ... Even if it's difficult to write him with emotions and not seem OOC ... Which I hope he wasn't, haha!

With any luck ... We'll see more of this side of Orihime in the manga before long.


End file.
